Gujarat primary school kids don’t know ABC of math, science

Is 23.4 closer to 23 or 234? When you put this question to a Standard VI student, you would expect him to say it is closer to 23. However, to the utter disbelief of the people who were seeking the answers, a student said 234 is closer.

Then came another question: what is the measurement from 1 cm to 6 cm? A class VII student said 7cm. Which is bigger: 42.32 or 42.03? Answer is 43.03 by a Standard VI student.

These are some of the shocking revelations of the diagnostic tests given by the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Board (GSHSEB) to primary school students across the state recently.

The test was conducted to check the quality of education in the state and particularly to test the primary school students’ knowledge. The results have shown that the primary school students lack basic knowledge of maths and sciences. 

In maths, a majority of Class 6, 7 and 8 students do not know the basic concepts of negative numbers, decimals, centimetres, fractions and ratio & proportion.

According to officials in the education department, the reason behind the pathetic quality of education is the continuation of rote learning in schools despite the introduction of many initiatives to end it. Hasmukh Adhia, principal secretary, education said that the diagnostic tests were conducted to gauge the quality of education so that corrective measures could be taken.

He said that based on these results, the department is also considering changes in the teaching methodology for the upcoming academic year. Incidentally, the next Gunotsav is also expected to see some changes.

Further, officials related to the process of diagnostic testing and research said that the ‘under-use’ of technology in teaching has also contributed to the problem.

They said that computers given by the government to primary schools are rarely used as the school authorities themselves are not trained efficiently to use the technology. “Eleven computers for primary school labs have been given by the government but they remain underutilised,” said an official.

Meanwhile, for the first time, the newly-recruited headmasters of primary schools are being trained by the government across the state. The training emphasises on administration and use of technology to teach primary school students.